In certain medical procedures, it is necessary or desirable to apply therapeutic solutions to wound or surgical sites by spraying the solution gently onto the affected area. The application of anti-bacterial agents or wound healing accelerators in the treatment of burns, for example, is best accomplished by spraying solutions of the active agent in sterile distilled water or saline. In surgical procedures, hemostatic agents such as thrombin may be advantageously delivered by spraying a sterile aqueous solution of the agent onto the bleeding tissue.
The application of therapeutic solutions by spraying has heretofore been accomplished by means of pump sprayers not unlike those used for household products. For example, in the case of thrombin, a sterile solution is prepared for mixing freeze-dried thrombin powder with saline and transferring this solution to a pump-type sprayer for application to the treatment area. The pump-type sprayer has several shortcomings in such use, most notable being the difficulty of treating hard to reach areas, the uncertainty of applying a specific amount of solution to a defined area, and the waste of expensive solution not readily picked up by the dip tube of the sprayer when the liquid level is near the bottom of the container.
It is accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a novel spray device which overcomes the disadvantages of the pump sprayer. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spray device which is easy and convenient for the physician to use. It is a yet further object to provide a means for converting a standard hypodermic syringe into a spray device. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and claims.